A United States anti-central bank digital currency (CBDC) has taken a step further in the legislative process after it passed the House Financial Services Committee.

The “CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act” was passed out of the committee and reported favorably to the House floor, according to a press release distributed by the bill’s author, House Majority Whip and Minnesota Representative Tom Emmer. That means the legislation will now undergo congressional voting.

“It’s the first anti-central bank digital currency legislative effort introduced in the United States,” Emmer said in his remarks on the decision. “For the past two Congresses, we’ve worked with my colleagues and stakeholder groups to update, improve, and grow support for this bill.”

The state act prevents the Federal Reserve — the country’s central banking system — from issuing a CBDC to American citizens to ensure that “the Fed cannot mobilize into a retail bank able to collect personal financial information on Americans.” It also prohibits the institution from using CBDCs to implement monetary policy “to control the American economy.”

Additionally, the bill, which stresses that the Federal Reserve and the U.S. Treasury don’t have the authority to issue CBDCs without Congressional approval, aims to protect innovation and the development of future digital cash that maintains the privacy protections of cash.

“This bill is simple: It halts the efforts of this Administrative State under President Biden from issuing a financial surveillance tool that will undermine the American way of life.”

Emmer said the bill has already gained the support of 60 members of Congress and various groups, including the Independent Community Bankers Association, American Bankers Association, and Blockchain Association.

“American values. American values. This is what the future global digital economy needs. If not open, permissionless, and private — just like cash — a central bank digital currency is nothing more than a CCP-style surveillance tool that can be weaponized to oppress the American way of life,” Emmer added, emphasizing the dangers of state control over currency and its incompatibility with American values.

Emmer’s anti-CBDC bill was first formally introduced to the House of Representatives in February 2023 in response to the White House’s Executive order of placing urgency on CBDC research and development. Emmer and 49 original co-sponsors reintroduced the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act in Congress on Sept. 14.